TODAY IN HISTORY

On This Day in:

1570 – Abraham Ortelius published the first modern atlas in Belgium.

1761 – In Philadelphia, the first life insurance policy was issued in the U.S.

1819 – The steamship Savannah became the first to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

1841 – Henry Kennedy received a patent for the first reclining chair.

1849 – Abraham Lincoln received a patent for the floating dry dock.

1891 – The first public motion picture was given in Thomas Edison’s lab.

1892 – Dr. Washington Sheffield invented the toothpaste tube.

1900 – The Associated Press was incorporated as a non-profit news cooperative in New York.

1906 – The Wright brothers received a patent their flying machine.

1939 – Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini signed a military alliance between Germany and Italy known as the “Pact of Steel.”

1947 – The Truman Doctrine was enacted by the U.S. Congress to appropriate military and economic aid Turkey and Greece.

1955 – Jack Benny did his last live network radio broadcast after a run of 23 years. He devoted his time fully to TV.

1964 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson outlined his goals for his “Great Society.”

1967 – “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” premiered on PBS.

1969 – A lunar module of Apollo 10 flew within nine miles of the moon’s surface. The event was a rehearsal for the first lunar landing.

1972 – U.S. President Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit Russia. He met with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.

1977 – Janet Guthrie set the fastest time of the second weekend of qualifying, becoming the first woman to earn a starting spot in the Indianapolis 500 since its inception in 1911.

1985 – Pete Rose passed Hank Aaron as National League run scoring leader with 2,108.

1986 – Sylvester Stallone agreed to a 10-picture, six-year deal with United Artists. He signed for a reported $15 million for each film.